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Eating Together
Please refer to the conversation cards sheet above.
Dwelling Together
Psalm 22: 1-11 (NRSV) 1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? 2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest. 3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. 4 In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. 5 To you they cried, and were saved; in you they trusted, and were not put to shame. 6 But I am a worm, and not human; scorned by others, and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock at me; 7 they make mouths at me, they shake their heads; 8 ‘Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver— let him rescue the one in whom he delights!’ 9 Yet it was you who took me from the womb; you kept me safe on my mother’s breast. 10 On you I was cast from my birth, and since my mother bore me you have been my God. 11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
Are there any details that stick out to you?
Do they highlight anything to you that you haven't noticed before?
Learning Together
General Questions:
Do you often encounter ‘big questions’ from the people in your parish / context?
What questions do they ask?
What challenges do they raise?
Spiritual Needs
All humans need:
• Meaning and purpose
• To transcend self
• Healthy relationships
• To be true to self
‘Spirituality is an integral and integrating force within humans, it is natural that expressions of spiritual need and distress are embedded in “everyday” conversation and behaviour… Yet, because spirituality is experienced deeply and inwardly, it is often spoken of without awareness or expressed using metaphors and other figures of speech. Thus, expressions that hint at one’s spirituality are vast and varied. For example:
- “I want to help others”
- “Everything happens for a reason”
- “My kids are my life”
- “I want to protect my family from seeing me suffer”
- “I love looking at the stars at night; they remind me of my place in the universe”
- “My job is so unimportant, sometimes I wonder why I do it”
- “I think God is trying to tell me something”
- “I’m afraid of going to sleep, afraid I might never wake up”
- “I don’t know what to believe any more”
Elizabeth Johnston Taylor (2007) What Do I Say? Talking with Patients about Spirituality, London, Templeton Foundation Press, 41-42.
- Do you encounter similar comments to the ones Taylor lists? Do you agree that these comments reveal spiritual needs?
Illness
I had never worried about my children being ill. It’s not something that had even occurred to me. Looking back, I’d never encountered sickness much. A child of a friend at swimming lessons had cancer and we prayed for him, but it never made me question anyone’s mortality. Just a few weeks before Ben was diagnosed we had to take Joe to the hospital for an appointment about the grommets he’d had in his ears. I remember seeing kids with feeding tubes up their noses and thinking, “Thank goodness that’s not my child.” Within months it was.
When you encounter sickness it makes you aware of how much sickness there is around. It’s a bit like buying a new car and suddenly noticing the same model everywhere. You become aware of how separated sick and disabled people can be by their illnesses and conditions; of how “normal” healthy people aren’t anywhere near as normal as you thought.
Now we were in hospital with a very sick child. With a child who could die.
Dave Luck (2017) What Happens Now? Maidstone, River Publishing, 7 & 23-24.
- If someone in your parish / context suffered this kind of life changing event, how might you begin answering their ‘big questions’, e.g. about life, death, love and God?
Science & Faith
In the relationship of science and faith, the public perception is often one of conflict. The conflict view is reinforced by how our society increasingly discusses issues in terms of (apparent) opposites. It is fuelled by the loudest voices, which come from the extremes…But the conflict model between science and faith is much too simplistic, and its inevitability is much exaggerated.
An apologetic strategy based on challenging science is both unnecessary and likely to fail. By dismissing scientific knowledge, the church risks alienating both its own young people and seekers with scientific backgrounds… A better strategy is to engage with what science has to say. Perhaps surprisingly to some, this can reinforce belief in God.
David Jeans (2019) How to Talk Science and God: Biblical Perspectives on the Big Questions of Life and the Universe, Grove Mission and Evangelism no. 125, Cambridge, Grove Books, 3.
- How might science reinforce or strengthen belief in God?
Group Activities
Looking at 'Big Questions' as expressions of spiritual needs: Pastoral responses to Questions and Challanges
When people ask ‘big questions’ and demand answers to difficult questions, the most helpful initial response is to listen to their concerns and respond pastorally. So, instead of trying to solve the “problem of evil” (for example), we might more helpfully ask:
- What is underneath or behind the challenge / question?
- What fears, hopes or longings have motivated it?
- What spiritual needs might the question reveal?
Small group activity (in twos or threes):
- Take a few big question cards each and look through the objections to Christian faith they raise.
- You might want to make additional cards if you can think of other objections you often come across…
Then take just one card and think through the following and then practice answering the question cards in twos:
- What is underneath or behind the challenge / question?
- What fears, hopes or longings might have motivated it?
- What spiritual needs might it reveal?
- Given all this, how might you respond to the challenge / question?
Reflecting Together: Doing Apologetics Well
In his first letter, Peter advises his readers to be prepared to give an answer when they are asked to explain the hope they have, he also advises that the answer be given with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15-16)
The Greek word translated above as ‘answer’ is the word apologia. It’s used eight times in the New Testament. Technically speaking, it means a defence in a court of law, but it is also used to mean any reasoned argument to defend something / someone.
From this Greek word, we get the English word Apologetics.
Apologetics
Apologetics is the kind of word where if you ask five people what it means, you get six or seven different answers. We can tell from its definition that it has something to do with arguing about or defending the faith; but there are different views about what it might mean to do this well.
Here are some explanations of Apologetics:
- Apologetics is giving people reasons for why the Christian faith makes sense in a modern context, and responding to objections to belief (Coffey 2009: 7).
- Apologetics always takes place within a specific cultural context…An apologetic approach that was very productive in one context might prove much less effective, and perhaps counterproductive, in a different cultural environment (McGrath 2012: 27).
- Christians engage in apologetics because they want their neighbours to take Christianity more seriously than they otherwise might. Christians hope that their neighbours will decide to follow Jesus Christ, or to follow him more closely, as a result of such conversations (Stackhouse 2002: 86).
- Unfortunately, today the term apologetics has unpleasant connotations for many people. On a superficial level it sounds as if we are being asked to apologise for having faith. At a deeper level it may suggest an aggressive or opportunistic kind of person who resorts to fair means or foul in order to get people to accept his point of view (Ferguson and Wright 1988: 36).
- The defence and explanation of the Christian faith by intellectual reasoning (Geaves 2006: 7).
Group activity:
- Look through the explanations of Apologetics above.
- Which one feels most relevant or helpful to your context and ministry?
Discussion on Stackhouse's Key Ideas
Key principles from John Stackhouse, Humble Apologetics (2002):
According to Stackhouse, we should:
- Take people’s questions and ideas seriously (Stackhouse, 2002: 168).
- Not exaggerate our own status or sources (Stackhouse, 2002: 169).
- ‘Show genuine appreciation of the other person’s good points’ (Stackhouse, 2002: 169).
- Be willing to be proved wrong (Stackhouse, 2002: 170).
- We need ‘to study, to devote ourselves regularly to the analysis of our culture and to a clear understanding of our own religion’ (Stackhouse, 2002: 178).
- ‘Concede all you can, affirm all you can, and argue as little as you need to’ (Stackhouse, 2002: 179, 168-170, 178-179).
What one thing in Stackhouse’s ideas seems most helpful or relevant to your context?
What one thing seems least helpful or relevant?
Resources to Use
Church Army have developed a suite of resources to enable and resource evangelism and faith sharing in the local church. These are useful tools for you to use when starting to lead in evangelism in your context, and equip those who may feel less comfortable with the idea of sharing why they are a Christian.
Faith Questions is designed to support Christians to think about difficult questions in a safe space, to help them understand how they can have positive conversations about difficult topics with non-Christians.
Praying Together
- Think about a person or place that has helped you when you’ve had doubts.
- Think about someone you know who is struggling with questions and doubts.
- Bring these people and places before the Lord in prayer.
- Write a letter to God, telling him about questions, doubts, and fears…